Gloria Estefan was critically injured while on tour on March 20, 1990. She suffered a fractured spine when a speeding semi crashed into her tour bus in Pennsylvania during a snowstorm. Surgeons had to permanently implant two titanium rods to help to stabilize her spine; and Estefan endured months of intense physical therapy to make a complete recovery. She returned to an international tour ten months after the accident. Estefan wrote the ballad “Coming Out of the Dark” about her the near-fatal accident, which she performed at the American Music Awards in January 1991. That night, Estefan received a standing ovation as she took the stage for her first public performance after the accident. The song would go on to become the singer’s third number one in the U.S.
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